Perceived Recoil of heavier bullets??

[flakbait]

Why do heavier bullets for a given Caliber have more perceived recoil?

For example, 40 S&W commonly comes in 155, 165, and 180 grain loadings. The 180 grain loads "supposably" have more perceived recoil given equal muzzle energy between all three loads.

Is this difference in perceived recoil even noticeable?

 

[Quoheleth]

Greater mass of bullet.
Basically because it takes more energy to move a heavier bullet, Sir Isaac Newton reminds us that an equal amount of force will be exerted in the opposite direction. We call this recoil.
Personally, in .357 Magnum, I think more recoil is generated in hot 125gr stuff than in hot 158gr stuff.

 

[Hk Dan]

I haven't really found that to be true at all. Heavy bullets have a different recoil characteristic, but I wouldn't call it heavier or lighter. More..."slower". I prefer a 165 grain bullet in .40 because of the snappiness, and the 200 grain feels like the slide is stuck in maple syrup (relatively speaking--.40 is always snappy)

 

[Jim Watson]

Recoil is a momentum balance MxV (bullet) = MxV (gun).
Energy squares the velocity E = 1/2MV^2.

Given equal energy with light and heavy bullets, the heavy bullet load will have higher momentum and thus more recoil.

If you are an IPSC or IDPA competitor, it works the other way. Power factoring is a momentum estimate and energy does not come into it. Many people say a slow heavy bullet has less FELT recoil than a light fast bullet when their power factors (momentum) are equal.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I haven't really found that to be true at all.

I have. All of my firearms "kick harder" with heavier bullets. The only exception was shooting 110 grain Super-Vel .357 ammo ,which was loaded very hot, recoiled much harder than standard 158 grain loads. In my .44 magnum revolvers,200+ grain bullets have more recoil than my 180 grainers of any manufacture.

 

[Manco]

It depends on what you're most sensitive to, short-duration force or total impulse (transfer of momentum). The latter is basically "how much recoil" there is, in total, and in general heavier bullets tend to have more momentum than lighter bullets of a given caliber, making them feel heavier, although there are exceptions. However, because lighter bullets accelerate so much more quickly, in some cases they might put a higher peak level of force into the gun and your hand for a short period of time, which may make the recoil feel sharper and therefore harsher (a more powerful muzzle blast can also add to one's perception of how harsh it is to fire a certain load). This is especially true in cases where the lighter bullet has nearly the same momentum as the heavier bullet (and of course if it has greater momentum, then it really does have more recoil, too).

 

[christcorp]

I don't find it to be true either. Heavier bullets tend to have a lower velocity. Technically, most have less kinetic energy because the loss of velocity is greater effectively than the mass/weight of the bullet. For me, my 230 grain 45acp has less perceived recoil than my 160-185 grain. Also, my 147 grain 9mm and 158 grain 357 mag tend to shoot easier than the 124-125 grain of each. Just my perception.